Hair curler

ABSTRACT

A TUBULAR HAIR CURLER BODY IS PROVIDED WITH AN END NOTCH FOR RECEPTION OF A DEPENDING END LUG ON A CLAP WHICH IS CLOSED POSITION ON THE BODY IS IN SUBSTANTIAL FORMFIT THERWITH, WITH THE LUG ALSO HAVING SIDE SHOULDERS ENGAGING THE INNER BODY PERIPHERY IN CLOSED CLAMP POSITION, SO THAT REMOVAL OF OF THE CLAMP FROM THE BODY IS ONLY BY WAY OF ENDWISE RETRACTION OF THE LUG FROM THE NOTCH   WHICH, HOWEVER, IS NORMALLY PREVENTED BY A SPRING IN THE BODY WHICH YIELDINGLY HOLDS THE LUG IN THE NOTCH AND NORMALLY CLOSES THE CLAMP ON THE BODY, WITH THE NOTCH, LUG AND SPRING FORMING A RELEASABLY HINGE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CLAMP AND BODY.

R. M. FUSCO sept. zo, 1971 HAIR CURLER Filed July 29;"1970 I N V E N TO R 5040/2 M lf2/Sco Y United States Patent O 3,605,763 HAIR CURLER Ralph M. Fusco, 299 Johnson St., Naugatuck, Conn. 06770 Filed July 29, 1970, Ser. No. 59,236 Int. Cl. A45d 2/26 U.S. Cl. 132-41A 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tubular hair curler body is provided with an end notch for reception of a depending end lug on a clamp which in closed position on the body is in substantial formt therewith, with the lug also having side shoulders engaging the inner body periphery in closed clamp position, so that removal of the clamp from the body is only by way of endwise retraction of the lug from the notch which, however, is normally prevented by a spring in the body which yieldingly holds the lug in the notch and normally closes the clamp on the body, with the notch, lug and spring forming a releasable hinge connection between the clamp and body.

This invention relates to hair curlers in general, and to hair curlers of roll-up type in particular.

Hair curlers of this type in their simplest form consist of a tubular body or roll on which hair is rolled up for its formation into soft curls once the rolled hair is set and the hair combed or brushed into a desired style after the curler is removed. Usually, a bobby pin is used to hold the curler and rolled hair thereon in place on the users head for setting. Other hair curlers of this type have, besides a tubular body, also a clamp 'with which to catch and hold the ends of hair against the body to thereby facilitate the task of rolling the hair on the body, with the clamp being either pivoted to the body or snapped on the same from the side. However, clamps for snap-on to curler bodies break all too easily, and they are also rather diflicult to apply by self-users, and even by attendants as in beauty parlors, for to hold the ends of hair evenly on a curler body and simultaneously snap on a clamp and catch the hair ends is not an easy task. On the other hand, while curler bodies with pivoted clamps require less skill in catching the hair ends and, hence, are preferred over snap-on clamps, they nevertheless are deficient in a few, but important, respects. Thus, prior hair curlers with pivoted clamps invariably use pivot pins that require reception holes in the curlers, which not only complicates the assembly of the bodies and clamps and thus adds considerable cost, but the bodies and clamps, once assembled, are for all practical intents and purposes inseparable, particularly for occasional thorough cleaning of personal curlers and for their more frequent cleaning in commercial beauty parlors between their use on different customers. Also, in using these curlers, the fingers of the person applying them, as well as the curlers themselves, are, or quickly become, quite wet and slippery, with the result that in holding the clamp on a curler open for placement of the hair ends on the curler body, the curler will all too easily slip from the holders fingers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hair curler of this type with a clamp which, while hinged to the curler body, requires neither a pivot pin nor a pin-receiving hole or holes in the body, with the hinge connection between the curler body and clamp being, instead, of snap type which permits instantaneous separation of the body and clamp and as instantaneous reassembly of these parts into their hinged relation. With this arrangement, the initial assembly of these curler parts is exceedingly quick and simple and thus contributes to low cost of these ice curlers, and users of the curlers encounter no obstacle in separating the curler parts and reconnecting them as often as desired for their thorough cleaning.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a hair curler of this type of which the elements of the aforementioned snap-type pivot connection between the body and clamp parts are embodied in or carried by these parts, and these connection elements are, moreover, so arranged, that clamp parts separated from body parts may be connected, interchangeably, with any random body parts. With this arrangement, it is particularly feasible to separate the body and clamp parts of a whole set or sets of curlers for thorough cleaning, for no hinge connection elements can possibly get lost, and these body and clamp parts may subsequently be connected at random.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hair curler of this type of which the hinge connection between the body and clamp parts is also of exceeding structural simplicity and thus makes for still lower cost of such curlers. To this end, the curler body is provided with an end notch and a simple leaf spring in its interior, and the clamp is at its designated nger end provided Iwith a depending lug which is received in the notch and has opposite shoulders that are in form-lit with the inner periphery of the tubular body when the clamp is closed on the latter, with this lug having a preferred heel end against which the end of the spring bears and which holds the latter deflected suiciently to keep the clamp closed on the body with a desirable light force, as well as to retain the lug in the notch. With this arrangement, the clamp may be separated from the body by merely retracing the same with its lug from the notch with a relatively light, yet deliberate, force to cam the spring end out of the way, and the clamp may be reconnected with the body by simply sliding the clamp with its lug into the notch while momentarily deecting the spring at its end out of the entry path of the lug, and then releasing the spring for return with its end against the heel of the lug. Also, |with the connection elements being a notch, a lug and a spring, the connection is particularly rugged and will last for the life of the curler irregardless of how often the clamp and body parts are separated, and these elements may, size- Wise, have even relatively wide tolerances without any adverse effect on their cooperation, with the spring, moreover, acting to take up any play between the notch and lug. Further, with the lug on the clamp being received in the end notch in the body and the spring being in the interior of the body, virtually the entire hinge connection is 'within the body, wherefore the hinge connection is not only quite inconspicuous but, even more important, does not project beyond the outer periphery of the tubular body to any extent at which it would in the least interfere with the easiest possible manipulation of the body in applying the curler, or become possibly entangled with another curler or for that matter any other object.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair curler of this type of which the clamp is, for its simplest formation and also optimum blending with the body, shaped cross-sectionally at the curvature of the outer periphery of the body preferably throughout the length of the clamp, including most of its aforementioned finger end, with only a short remaining terminal length of this iinger end being formed as a ridge of just sucient height to act as an effective barrier against slip of the curler from manipulating lingers in applying the curler to wet hair in accustomed marmer.

Further objects and advantages will appear to those skilled in the art from the following, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for i1- lustrative purposes:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a hair curler embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same hair curler;

lFIGS. 3 and 4 are end views of the hair curler as seen in the directions of the arrows 3 and 4, respectively, in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section through the hair curler as taken on the line 5 5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a section similar to FIG. 5, but showing the hair curler in a different condition.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 denotes a hair curler which comprises a tubular body 12, a clamp 14, and a hinge connection 16 between the body 12 and clamp 14. The body 12 may be of any suitable lightweight material, preferably molded plastic, and it is provided with the usual ventilation holes 18 for air to dry wet hair rolled around the body 12 in use of the curler.

The clamp 14, which is of any suitable material, preferably molded plastic, is cross-sectionally shaped, at least over the greater part of its length, and preferably over its entire length, to conform to the outer periphery of the tubular body 12 and be in substantial form-tit therewith when closed thereon (FIGS. 1 to 5), and the clamp is of a width w so as to embrace no more, and preferably less, than half the outer periphery of the body 1'2. The clamp 14 is also provided with ventilation holes 20.

The hinge connection 1'6 between the body 12 and clamp 14 is of a featured releasable or snap type, with the elements of this connection being a notch 22 in one end 24 of the peripheral wall 26 of the body 12, a lug 28 on the clamp 14, and a leaf-type spring 30. The notch 22, which is preferably and conveniently molded in the body 12, is in this instance rectangular (FIG. 2), having a bottom edge 32 and opposite side edges 34 with outwardly flared ends 36. The lug 28, which is preferably also of plastic, is carried by, and in this instance cemented to, the clamp 14 at one end thereof, though it is entirely feasible and even preferred to mold the lug integrally with the clamp. The lug 28 is of a width for endwise introduction into the notch 22 substantially with a slide t and for rest with its inner end surface 38 on the bottom edge 32 of the notch 22 (FIGS. 2 and 5). The lug 28 has also opposite side shoulders 40 Which on endwise introduction of this lug into the notch 22 extend in the interior of the body 12 and engage the inner periphery of the latter when the clamp 14 is closed on the body 12 (FIGS. 3 to 5). More particularly, these shoulders 40 are curved so as to be in substantial form-fit with the inner periphery of the body 12 when the clamp 14 is in its closed position. With the lug 28 thus introduced in the notch 22, the clamp 14 may be swung into open and closed positions with the bottom edge 32 of the notch 22 serving as a fulcrum for the inner end surface 38 of the lug 28 (FIGS. 5 and 6).

The spring 30 is arranged in the interior of the body 12, and is suitably anchored, in this instance riveted at 42, to the peripheral wall 26, with the end of the spring bearing hook-like against thel lug 28 to retain the same in the notch 22 in the body 12 and close the clamp 14 on the latter. To this end, the lug 28 is formed at the junction of its bottom surface 44 and outer end surface 46 with a preferred heel 48, which is preferably rounded, and against which bears the end 50 of the spring 30. whereby this spring is by the heel 48 deflected sufficiently resiliently to retain the lug 28 in the notch 22 in the body 12 and close the clamp 14 on the latter with a desired light force (FIG. 5). The spring end S0 is preferably curved similarly as the heel 48 and engages the same, so that for separation of the clamp 14 from the body 12 for cleaning purposes, retraction of the lug 28 from the notch 22 will require a deliberately applied, though relatively light, force. Further, While on separation of the clamp 1.4 from the body 12 the spring 30 is preferably nonilexed, the same extends in its normal flexed condition in S-fashion (FIG. 5) so as to clear the lug 28 except at its heel 48. To this end also, the bottom surface 44 of the lug 28 is from the heel 48 preferably slanted inwardly toward the clamp 14. Thus, with only the spring end 50 acting on the heel 48 of the lug 28 in all positions of the clamp 14 on the body 12 (FIGS. 5 and 6), the spring action on the lug is always positive and controlled and there is no play in the hinge connection 16.

The endlength of the clamp 14 from which the lug 28 depends serves as a convenient finger rest 52 for opening the clamp on the body 12 (FIG. 6). Since the clamp 14 is thus opened, functionally, for placing the ends of wet hair on the body l2 preliminary to closing the clamp for catching these hair ends and retaining them on the body for subsequent complete roll-on of the hair on the body, the fingers manipulating the curler and especially holding the clamp open are, or quickly become, quite wet and slippery, the same as the curler, wherefore it happens all too frequently that the curler slips from ones lingers. To avoid this, the finger rest 52 is at its end formed as a ridge 54 of low, but sufficient, height to serve as an effective finger slip-olf barrier.

As already mentioned, separation of the clamp 14 from the body 12 is accomplished by simple forced endwise retraction of the clamp with its lug 28 from the notch 22 in the body. Reassembly of the clamp 14 with the body 12 is equally as simple, requiring merely sliding the clamp with its lug 28 endwise into the notch 22 while holding the sp-ring 30 at its end 50 flexed out of the path of the lug, and then releasing the spring for snap with its end 50 against the heel 48 on the lug.

With the elements 22, 28 and 30 of the releasable hinge connection 16 being within, or virtually within, the body 12, this connection is not only quite inconspicuous, but leaves no projecting parts on the outside of the body with which other curlers could become entangled. Also, with the closed cover 14 blending smoothly with the tubular body 12, the latter may be manipulated with greatest ease in rolling hair thereon. There is also this further advantage that the described elements of the releasable hinge connection 16 are provided in or carried by the body and clamp parts of the curler, so that none of these elements will ever get lost no matter how often the clamp is separated from the body. Finally, the notch 22 in the body, the lug 28 on the clamp, and the spring 30 in the body form a releasable hinge connection which is quite rugged and will last for the life of the curler no matter how often the clamp and body are separated.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair curler, comprising a tubular body with a peripheral wall and a notch in one end of said Wall; a longitudinal clamp cross-sectionally curved for substantial form-it with the outer body periphery when closed thereon, and being of a width to embrace no more than half of said periphery, with said clamp having at one end a depending lug extending through said notch into the interior of said body and having therewithin opposite side shoulders engaging the inner periphery of said body when said clamp is closed on said body; and a leaf spring in said body and anchored to said wall and having an end bearing against said lug and being thereby deilected resiliently to retain said lug in said notch and close said clamp on said body, with said notch, lug and spring forming a releasable hinge connection between said clamp and body.

2. A hair curler as in claim 1, in which said lug has opposite ends of which the one end closest to said one wall end is formed as a heel, and said spring end bears against said heel.

3. A hair curler as in claim 1, in which said side shoulders are curved to be in substantial form-fit with said inner body periphery when said clamp is closed on said body.

4. A hair curler as in claim 2, in which said heel is curved, and said spring end is curved similarly as said heel and engages the latter hook-like in open or closed position of said clamp on said body.

5. A hair curler as in claim 4, in which said spring is from its anchorage on said wall longitudinally deected into substantial S-shape so as to clear said lug except with said end thereof.

6. A hair curler as in claim 5, in which said lug has a bottom surface at one end of Iwhich said heel is formed, and said bottom surface slants from said heel inwardly toward said clamp.

7. A hair curler as in claim 1, in which said notch is substantially rectangular in outline and has a bottom edge, and said lug is substantially fitted in said notch,

6 with the end of said lug opposite to said one end thereof bearing against said bottom edge as a fulcrum.

8. A hair ou-rler as in claim 1, in which said lug depends from a length of said clamp extending to said one end thereof, with said clamp length serving as a finger rest for swinging the clamp into open position.

9. A hair curler as in claim 8, in which said finger rest is at said one clamp end formed with a raised ridge which serves as a nger slip-off barrier.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/ 1949 Zachary 132-34 4/1956 Oppman l132-41R LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner G. E. McNEILL, Assistant Examiner 

